He thinks he can play in the NFL, but last week Bernard failed his physical exam before the St. Louis Rams' mini-camp and his agent says he is back in Corvallis, extremely disappointed.

Bardia Ghahremani of the International Sports Agency told me Monday morning that he was surprised at what happened.

I was surprised, too, after reading the quotes from Rams' head coach Scott Linehan after the undrafted Bernard signed a free-agent contract with the same team that has ex-OSU tailback Steven Jackson and new draftee Roy Schuening.

Yvenson Bernard is the Pac-10's No. 6 rusher all time, but the former OSU tailback is facing an uphill battle to make an NFL roster. ... he failed his physical at the St. Louis Rams' camp last week.

"We've got Oregon State east here, I guess,'' said Linehan.

It was a nice story, until Rams' medical personnel decided that Bernard's knee couldn't pass muster. It was the same knee that was scoped last last season, a little over a month before the Emerald Bowl. ...Bernard gained 177 yards in OSU's 21-14 win over Maryland and was the game's offensive MVP. He is the Pac-10's No. 6 rusher all-time with 3,862 career rushing yards, but there is a possibility he could also be the next Ken Simonton - another OSU back with monster stats who didn't make it in the NFL.

Ghahremani said many teams backed away from Bernard because of his knee. He thought the Rams were OK with it (he passed muster before the Combine), but apparently, "they had some more issues. We're trying to get ahold of the MRIs, because we don't understand what the hell happened. ... we're trying to figure it out.''

Ghahremani said many teams "do a waiver'' when a player has a physical problem, which allows them to participate in drills. But Bernard was never allowed to show Linehan and the Rams' coaching staff what he could do on the field. "If we had known (St. Louis wouldn't do a waiver) we would have (signed) with another team,'' said the agent. "When I spoke the Rams, they said the doctor made the call. The doctor didn't feel comfortable (about letting him play).''

The agent said the Rams apparently thought Bernard "would be farther along'' in his recovery. In Bernard's mind, it wasn't a factor. "His knee doesn't hurt,'' said Ghahremani. "He doesn't have pain in it (he says). You know how football players are. If they don't have pain (they play). ... I'm thinking the kid probably has a high threshold for pain. He thinks it's OK, but other teams are shying away from it.''

"At the end of the day,'' said the agent, "it made no sense.''

Ghahremani characterized Bernard as "extremely bummed out. You feel bad for him. Your heart goes out to him. ... I think he's still going to get picked up and go to camp with someone. But it's going to take a little bit of patience. ... I think he will play in the NFL but unfortunately it won't be with the Rams.''

And if the NFL doesn't work out, maybe it's the CFL, where the aforementioned Simonton is playing with the Calgary Stampeders. ... Winnipeg sounds like a good landing place for a former Beaver, seeing as how OSU coach Mike Riley is a Grey Cup-winning coaching icon there and a member of that organization's Hall of Fame.